Why is everyone commenting on the recent comic making such a big deal out of this? Did it hit a little too close to home? Did it suddenly become to real for you? When Grape mentioned Anise overdose I considered anise and catnip (Or, as young, trendy cats are calling it these days, 'The Nip') to be drugs, especially since I saw Grap on a nip high in the previous comic. Be lucky they're just smoking it.

And why lose respect for Grape all of a sudden? And so quickly? I think it's appropriate to dub them 'fair weather fans' for the moment. Grape's still my favorite character for the same reason's she's always been, and one single aspect of what a character's recently doing does not completely define said character. You fair weather fans are lucky I'm still in a good mood, or I would start getting cruel.

And just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm not defending smoking, I don't smoke, I don't like smoking, and I never will (Though that looks more like a joint then a ciggarette to me).

I applaud Rick for this concept. This idea makes the character, despite being an anthromorphic cat, seem more human, and groundwork could have very well been laid to give her more depth. I cannot wait to see where this arc takes us.

Meh, I thought the nip jokes were funny at first but this is taking it a step far. It's just crappy to see my favourite character, Max, acting like a druggie... So far this has been a happy-go-lucky type of humerous comic, and I count on it for a laugh every few days, a great way to get my weekdays started, and it's disappointing to see this.

It's more about the "drugs", the addiction, and then the dealer. Drugs, addiction, and drug dealers arn't very easy to make funny as it's a pretty serious problem in the modern world. It's a touchy subject because there are people who are addicts, like Max, and dealers, like Fester, and I guess it's kindof awkward seeing the more dark side of Housepets!.

That said, I still chuckled at it. I have a good sense of humour, dark humoured or not, and I appreciate a good joke as long as it's pulled off right. This isn't Rick's best comic, but I appreciate him for trying something a bit more mature.

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

Take that, society!

Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:39 am

Brittles

Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:25 amPosts: 108Location: Newfoundland

Re: What is the big deal?

Hmm well my personal thoughts were already up about this.. I really had no trouble with it over all. Wasn't a funny comic per-say, but it wasn't one I was up in arms about. I had no desire to see it come down, or to see future comics related to it taken down. But I can over-analyze as always, and figure out why people had a problem with it in the first place.

It wasn't the drugs that causes this. It's just about context, and presentation I suppose. That's what's causing the trouble here. In an earlier comic Grape stomped on an intelligent creature, then she, in front of all his friends, ate the poor creature whole causing the others to run in terror. One can say that, out of context, is a LOT worse then Nip comic. But it was presented in a childish, cartoony manner so it didn't matter. In the same way it really isn't a big deal if W-Coyote gets violently killed in an explosion. Similarly, the comic previous to this one was also present as if being 'rather silly' which is why very few people complained about it.

This comic I guess just came off as too 'real' to people. They did have the appearance of actual druggies almost, the way max was sat down, sharing a draw. The shield of silly presentation was gone, so people could only see the 'reality' of it. A reality that bothers them, and many others, even if it wasn't a problem for some of us. If Rick had simply drawn the catnip like actual catnip, and had been a bit more foolish in the presentation, I don't think any one would have complained. The joke itself could have been practical the same even.

Personally, I would have gone for comparing it to booze over drugs, as it's much easier to cartoonize, and offends less people. Maybe our Cat with the crazy eye has some sort of moon-shined Nip-Nip racket up on the hill haha. Throw in some cartoony, stereotyped early 1900's gangster-Cats in there, and we're in business. Though... lets not go as far as Lackdaisy does. I think some of the smiles in that comic would give kids nightmares.

Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:06 am

FerretWithASpork

Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:04 pmPosts: 195Location: Upstate New York

Re: What is the big deal?

I think Brittles really hit the nail on the head with what he said. The other nip jokes were funny, but this one was just too real, and didn't have enough cartoony comedy in it that we've come to love from HPC.

_________________

Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:28 pm

BeyondUshuaia

Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:57 amPosts: 97

Re: What is the big deal?

Edit: (I'll leave the original post)

With the help of a friend I stand corrected. It came to my attention that there was a comic that went up and then back down again. Regardless, I think we should let this be and move on then.

BeyondUshuaia Wrote:

Come on, seriously?Firstly, in which comic did max act like a druggie, and secondly, Really?

To quote a well known movie also (Lord of War)

"I'll never know what seperates the recreational drug user from the habitual"

To be straight though, we all know which Grape (and whomever other cats) are. I'm just gonna let Rick do his thing and respect what he does. but I also think that we all need to do that and let him at least finish an arc (maybe it turns out shes *gasp* NOT A DRUGGIE!) Apologies for the rant guys, but you gotta let people do their thing and if it means taking a grain of salt in your case, then so be it.

_________________I do in photoshop what kindergartners do with fingerpaints.

Last edited by BeyondUshuaia on Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:49 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:33 pm

FerretWithASpork

Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:04 pmPosts: 195Location: Upstate New York

Re: What is the big deal?

BeyondUshuaia Wrote:

Come on, seriously?Firstly, in which comic did max act like a druggie, and secondly, Really?

Did you not see today's comic before it was pulled? The apology that is there now is in place of it, Rick took down the one originally posted.

_________________

Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:37 pm

fourwinds

Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:28 pmPosts: 5

Re: What is the big deal?

Hi there,

can someone explain what happened in the comic that got pulled?

Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:39 pm

BeyondUshuaia

Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:57 amPosts: 97

Re: What is the big deal?

The comic took a turn that was a bit more serious than people would have wanted. <_<; funny how not reading the comic leads to much confusion.

_________________I do in photoshop what kindergartners do with fingerpaints.

Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:52 pm

Brittles

Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 5:25 amPosts: 108Location: Newfoundland

Re: What is the big deal?

Basically the comic consisted of Cat-Nip being drawn like a smoke to the point that if it wasn't for the words you really would never have thought it Cat-Nip in a million years. The two cats (Max, and Grape) hanging out in an ally like area, and sharing the a single draw, as they tend to be called around here. While doing so they discussed how Max had already gone through his 'Christmas Stash', and the only person in the neighbor hood he could get more from was very very creepy.

To many this made them look like pot users hanging out in an ally while talking about their dealer. Which was too far away from the cartoon silliness they prefer to see in "HP!". Some going as far as saying they 'lost all their respect for the characters' the instant they saw the Nip/Drugs metaphor presented in such a 'real like' fashion.

Anyway, a lot of people complained so Rick took out the strip, and canceled the Arc that was to follow. He more or less explains his reasoning in the post for todays message, and I'm fine with that. He decided it didn't match the standard that he set for the comic, and took a step back from it.

Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:15 pm

fourwinds

Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:28 pmPosts: 5

Re: What is the big deal?

Thanks

It was annoying to know I'd just missed it

Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:19 pm

Blitz

Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:33 pmPosts: 2

Re: What is the big deal?

FerretWithASpork Wrote:

Meh, I thought the nip jokes were funny at first but this is taking it a step far. It's just crappy to see my favourite character, Max, acting like a druggie... So far this has been a happy-go-lucky type of humerous comic, and I count on it for a laugh every few days, a great way to get my weekdays started, and it's disappointing to see this.

...this post will probably get erased, but I have to say it.

{Scrubbed -- please do not insult other board members}

Rick... you know what you SHOULD do?!

KILL the boards. KILL the comment box.

To HECK with those psychotic readers who have nothing better to do than smear your work when it shatters their tiny little worlds. Their constant and obsessive praise isn't worth the albatross it ties around your neck. Bending to reader whims is the exact OPPOSITE of literary integrity!

Regardless of whether you kill the ARC, do yourself a favor and KILL the conversation. Don't be another 2kinds, you'll quickly find yourself no longer in control of the comic, as your more vocal fans will GUILT you into turning your fun project into THEIR fancruft. My advice to you? Don't let that happen. Make sure if you kill the arc that you are doing it for your OWN reasons, not THEIRS.

And with that, I'm never posting or commenting here again. I'll read the comic, and if I like it I'll keep doing so. But at least I won't be running to a board or comment box to moan and cry and waggle a finger whenever something in the comic doesn't fit my preconceived notions!

Make sure if you kill the arc that you are doing it for your OWN reasons, not THEIRS.

That's what I'm doing. I could care less about what other people think about smoking in particular, or that it's bad or wrong and that I shouldn't even be portraying it. You know what I think is stupid? This movement to mark any movie with smoking in it an automatic R rating.

The problem I had was also mine. I wasn't enjoying this story arc I had planned all of the sudden because I was suddenly experiencing personal doubts--and this happened before the comic was even up.

When people commented on it, it was a litmus test to see how I really feel about it. Because when people said that the drug use was inappropriate, it allowed me to step back and think, "Yes, this was most certainly a bad direction to go." When other people complain that they really want this comic to be more mature and how dare you change your mind, it allowed me to step back and think, "You know, I really don't care about that."

It is, all in all, a huge blunder on my part. I figure though that this comic is still way young, and aborting the arc before it has the chance to seep in would be the best way to minimize whatever damage my decision would cause.

_________________I'm sure the cold hand of science will be able to overcome his magical powers

Mon Jan 05, 2009 3:25 pm

BeyondUshuaia

Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:57 amPosts: 97

Re: What is the big deal?

Blitz Wrote:

do yourself a favor and KILL the conversation. Don't be another 2kinds, you'll quickly find yourself no longer in control of the comic, as your more vocal fans will GUILT you into turning your fun project into THEIR fancruft.

Haha! Funny how that works out, as the forums here are actually pretty chill. When the comic came out, we really had just some discussion about it here, with only a couple rants (my misplaced one included). So funny how Q.E.D. - The people whom operate the forum (as far as I've seen) support rick still regardless of his choice in comic material.

Good day to you sir, as I hope I never see you again.

------

<_<; I should stop being mean guys. What do you think?

_________________I do in photoshop what kindergartners do with fingerpaints.

POW! Right in the kisser! You basically said it better than I could, have a cookie.

Blitz Wrote:

Stuff

This doesn't mean that the fans can't give off atleast some constructive critisism. There's a difference between saying "OMG!#%! THIS IS TERRIBLE! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!@?!!%?" and saying "This was a little too far".

Rick can do whatever the heck he wants to do with his comic, and (hopefully) we all respect that. But that doesn't mean we can't explain why this or that isn't too good, it's part of being an artist and having fans.

Hopefully Rick will learn from this whole nip arc "fiasco" and either not do it again or even try to mold it into something better and learn from it, but he could have easily chosen to say "Screw you guys, I'm doing this my way!".

BeyondUshuaia Wrote:

<_<; I should stop being mean guys. What do you think?

Nah, it's okay to be mean to people every now and again. Frankly I thought you were pretty tame

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

Hopefully Rick will learn from this whole nip arc "fiasco" and either not do it again or even try to mold it into something better and learn from it, but he could have easily chosen to say "Screw you guys, I'm doing this my way!".

On that note, when I was doing the Calvin and Hobbes tribute week several months back, a whole LOT of people complained at the last strip in that arc. If that wasn't the last comic planned for that arc I would have kept going with it because I did like it.

_________________I'm sure the cold hand of science will be able to overcome his magical powers

Hopefully Rick will learn from this whole nip arc "fiasco" and either not do it again or even try to mold it into something better and learn from it, but he could have easily chosen to say "Screw you guys, I'm doing this my way!".

On that note, when I was doing the Calvin and Hobbes tribute week several months back, a whole LOT of people complained at the last strip in that arc. If that wasn't the last comic planned for that arc I would have kept going with it because I did like it.

As I said, I wholely respect that "THIS IS YOUR COMIC, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH IT", but that doesn't mean you can't learn and be constructively critisized by your work to help make it better any way you can.

And which comic was it? I remember 2 or 3 Calvin and Hobbes-like comics, though I don't remember which one.

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

Quite frankly, I think these comments were stupid to be blunt. If it's funny (or more importantly what you want to do) then I have no problem if it's a tribute to Calvin and Hobbes (unless you were doing like, I dunno, 100 "tribute comics" then it would be to far!).

Compared to this one right now, telleporting through time isn't as much of a touchy subject as doing joints. If you had continued with this arc, I'd have no problem with it, it would just seem a bit weird to me that all of a sudden Grape and Max look like druggies. This is where the critisizm comes in.

though I guess this guy explains the other half. Drama is key to more views! I just wanted to drop this video off since it's about [gameing] webcomics (he's bashing Ctrl-Alt-Del if you don't know)

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

Take that, society!

Mon Jan 05, 2009 5:40 pm

Oblivion

Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:20 amPosts: 115

Re: What is the big deal?

*Audible sigh*

Guys, lets just end this little disbute and wait until monday.

I dont see why we need to linger on an issue that has already been resolved.

Sorry, just wanted to get that out, I finally downloaded what I should have downloaded a long time ago.

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

Take that, society!

Mon Jan 05, 2009 6:29 pm

FerretWithASpork

Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:04 pmPosts: 195Location: Upstate New York

Re: What is the big deal?

Now try Google Chrome XD I switch between FF and GC on a near daily basis, GC has a much cleaner interface but not as feature-rich as FF.

_________________

Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:22 pm

Copycat

Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:08 amPosts: 6Location: Oregon USA

Re: What is the big deal?

I wanna see the comic he took down T_T

_________________All hands to the deck!

Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:47 pm

Nothing

Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2008 9:23 pmPosts: 26

Re: What is the big deal?

Well, the thing is, marijuana is not bad (except on personal grounds), no matter what any ignorant fool thinks.

Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:55 pm

FerretWithASpork

Joined: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:04 pmPosts: 195Location: Upstate New York

Re: What is the big deal?

I dunno where you're from but where I am illegal == bad, Argue all you want, I don't give a muffins and cookies, until they legalize it, it's bad... And even then it probably still will be.. IMHO Alcohol == bad , cigarettes == bad...

I dunno where you're from but where I am illegal == bad, Argue all you want, I don't give a muffins and cookies, until they legalize it, it's bad... And even then it probably still will be.. IMHO Alcohol == bad , cigarettes == bad...

But the freedoms to do what you want with your body = Good!

Right?

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

I have my morals and you have yours, obviously they're different, let's leave it at that.

I edited it, but not before you responded.

Basically, I think it was stupid of Rick to put down the comic just because it referenced marijuana. People need to stop perfectly wonderful person about how evil and 'low' drug usage is.

I think Brittles explained it the best a few posts below the OP. Rick explains it well when he replied to your own post.

A change from a crazy children-like cartoon to a sortof real situation with drugs (well, kitty version of drugs) is kindof an awkward change isn't it?

It would fall to Cerberus Syndrome (like it says in the front page). It's not entirely about the fans complaining about druggies, it's just a really weird change of pace from the usual stuff Rick does.

And people don't like change.

_________________Pfft, and they said I couldn't toast breakfast cereal. Now look who's laughing!

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